The Watergate Scandal Essay

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A defining moment in American history, the Watergate scandal, dramatically transformed the way Americans view politicians and government. In the eyes of most Americans, trust, honor and integrity, vanished from the political landscape.

For almost 200 years the American public viewed their government and its chief executive with virtual reverence. Presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were the embodiment of every principle and value set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The events that occurred in Vietnam coupled with the Watergate scandal shocked the nation and irreparably damaged the publics’ view of politics and government activities. The release of the Pentagon papers…show more content…

The transgressions uncovered during the Watergate break-in investigation discouraged Americans by shattering their belief in Presidential infallibility. As Richard Nixon’s chief-of-staff, H.R. Haldeman, said, “…comes a very clear thing: you can’t trust the government; you can’t believe what they say; and you can’t rely on their judgment; and the – the implicit infallibility of presidents, which has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this, because it shows that people do things the President wants to do even though it’s wrong, and the President can be wrong.” These words expressed the sentiment of most Americans following Watergate and the publicity surrounding the investigation and President Nixon’s subsequent resignation.

As time progressed and the investigation began to uncover the truth about what transpired at the Watergate apartment complex several things became evident: most of the burglars were ex-CIA and ex-FBI personnel, the burglars were paid with money directly from the re-election campaign and President Nixon not only knew about and sanctioned the break-in but deliberately attempted to cover it up. When called before Congress to testify about his knowledge, White House staffer John Dean testified that Nixon and his aides attempted to “stonewall” the investigation. As Congress continued its inquiry, it became clear that Nixon…

The Watergate Scandal Essay written by Unknown The Watergate Scandal was a series of crimes committed by the President and his staff, who were found to spied on and harassed political opponents, accepted illegal campaign contributions, and covered up their own misdeeds. On June 17, 1972, The Washington Post published a small story. In this story the reporters stated that five men had been arrested breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. The headquarters was located in…

He was also deeply involved with the cover up and still lied
about his involvement. During the times of the unraveling of Watergate,
questions were asked about connections with the White House and the
president, but when the president was asked about it at a press conference he
assured Americans that "The White House has no involvement whatever in
this particular incident." He was lying to the country…

The Watergate Scandal was political problem that occurred in the United States during the 1970s. On June 17, 1972 a break in occurred at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Complex in Washington, D.C. Nixon's administration attempted cover up of its involvement. In the morning of June 17 1972, a couple of burglars were caught and arrested inside the of the Democratic National Committee, located at the Watergate building in Washington D.C. this was no ordinary robbery…

of time, people have always had distrust in the government due to government scandals and corruption that they attempted to keep from the public. Many of those incidents didn’t stay secretly for long due to the change to modern day media. In this paper we have compiled together a few of those scandals to compose a writing discussing different cases of corruption and scandals within the government.
The Watergate Scandal was an event that changed the face of the nation. It was the first time in the…

Mr. Hunt has disappeared.1
The connection between Nixon and the scandal was undeniable, as the investigations continued to happen more and more information was revealed, and the tie between the burglary and the Republican Party grew. The five men who had been arrested had been found with “bugging” and eavesdropping devices, different types of cameras and around $5,000 dollars all in big bills.
The money has now been traced. It turns out to be part of $114,000 which found its way from the Nixon…

known as the “Watergate Seven”. The “Watergate Seven” involved John Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, Kenneth Parkinson, Charles Colson, Gordon Strachan, John Ehrlichman, and Robert Mardian. The “Watergate Seven” did many different things in the Watergate Scandal. They broke into the Watergate hotel, wiretapped phones and attempted burglaries.
The Watergate Scandal was truly the biggest political scandal in United States History. Over forty people where charged with crimes relating to the scandal. Bernstein…

The 37th President, Richard Milhous Nixon, marred the reputation of not only himself, but of every president after him. The Watergate Scandal was a major upheaval in the trust of a president. When it came to electing officials, President Nixon wasn't the best; he often elected corrupt officials. The Cambodian Campaign, which was ordered by Nixon, prolonged America's involvement in the Vietnam War, which was driven by heavy anti-communist views, not with the best interest of America in mind.. Using…

whole Watergate scandal, brought about charges of
political bribery, burglary, extortion, wiretapping, conspiracy,
obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, tax fraud, and
illegal use of the CIA and the FBI, campaign contributions and
taxpayers money for private matters. In all, more than 30
administration officials and other people in the Nixon
administration pleaded guilty or were found guilty of illegal
acts (Time and Again 2). The term “Watergate" came from the
Watergate Hotel…

be available to reporters of today. The seemingly endless amount of stories the media covers today restrict the amount of time a news outlet has to devote to one story. Woodward and Bernstein spent a better part of eighteen months investigating Watergate. I imagine you would be hard-pressed to find an editor willing to let a journalist devote that much time to one story today. The money needed to fuel such an investigation would be just as hard to come up with as well. Many newspapers are bleeding…

were the illegal activities included in the Watergate scandal. Nixon had a hand in not only selling ambassadorships; but also harassing the Democratic National Committee chairman Lawrence O’Brien, stealing files to blackmail retired presidents, and even putting spies in political groups he deemed radical. What would ultimately prove his downfall, however, would be the failed break-in attempt at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in the Watergate complex. While Nixon may not have been aware…